Early childhood and schools

OECD-Tohoku School

The devastating March 2011 Tsunami and Great East Japan earthquake led to a massive loss of lives, destroying many homes, schools and livelihoods in the Tohoku region of Japan. OECD Secretary General, Angel Gurria, visited Japan shortly after the disaster to express the OECD’s commitment to supporting Japan’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The OECD Tohoku School was created in 2012 out of joint efforts by the Japanese Ministry for Education, Fukushima University and other local stakeholders, supported by the OECD.

The aim of the project was to help junior and high school students in the Tohoku area to overcome their losses through projects that both supported the region’s recovery and helped them to develop valuable competencies and skills, as well as resilience for the future.

with Japanese popular singer Miwa performing the theme song of the Tohoku school

Saturday, August 30, 2014 10:55 CET

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At the Champs de Mars, 100 Japanese students who were victims of the tsunami will share the outcomes of the locally-developed projects that they designed in co-operation with their teachers, schools, industries and communities of their regions. The students wish to communicate a message to the world, i.e. they are learning to stand on their own feet, not asking the world to pity them. Thus, the students took initiatives to engage themselves in fund-raising to cover the costs of the exhibition of their projects, travel costs, etc.

The exhibitions include personal stories of 100 students, revived Tohoku culture (e.g. Tohoku Deer Dance) performed by students, dominos representing the tsunami, balloons showing the height of the tsunami, etc.

An official ceremony will take place at the OECD Headquarters on September 2, when the OECD Secretary General and Mr. Kazuo Kodama, the permanent ambassador of Japan to the OECD, will plant a cherry tree to commemorate the event.

During a break from the OECD Forum, two students (11th grade and 12th grade) from the OECD-Tohoku School Project shared their learning experiences with Cassandra Davis and Meredith Lunsford of educationtoday.

26/03/2012 - The OECD has launched an initiative with the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Fukushima University and local schools for students in the Tohoku region to create and organise an event that will showcase the country’s recovery from the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake